For anyone who hasn’t heard of Canoe, it once was the best restaurant in Toronto. X) But the view is quite nice, as it’s located in the TD tower downtown.
With the glasses of rosy retrospection, I can say that Canoe was ok. It definitely fell below expectations, no question; but the flaws were pretty recurrent. We chose the tasting menu (with cocktails or wine); you’d expect it to be the highlights, the best that the restaurant has to offer, really. But I certainly hope this is not the best that Canoe has to offer. I think the major issue might have been that they tried to keep to a theme for the whole meal, which really was their undoing. EVERYTHING was too sweet! Either that or their owner owns an orchard…
The Crazy Horse sake accompanying the amuse bouche was the best drink of the night, everything else really was too sweet in addition to the food that was already pretty sweet. The amuse bouche was this little blini with smoked salmon, some sweet glaze, some creme fraîche, (maybe some dill). Once again, the word is sweet. Not in a good way.
Amuse Bouche
This followed up by some scallop ceviche; a pretty dish, but only pretty ok in flavour. It was relatively novel; but everything just tasted too much of apple and sweetness. The horseradish was probably the culprit. I would have preferred something warmer, too. :/
Qualicum Beach Scallop Ceviche: Apple Cider Seaweed, Horseradish, Fresh & Preserved Apple
Next up was my favourite course, the artichoke soup with pork belly. It was creamy and warm, which was welcome because we were really cold. D: I found it really balanced, with great depth in flavour and texture. I enjoyed all the components; they went so well together! Without a doubt, the best course of the night.
Jerusalem Artichoke Soup: Crispy Artichoke, Sunflower Seed Oil, Maple Braised Pork Belly
Intermezzo: a palate cleanser, which was meh. I wanted to go back to warm soup. :/
Intermezzo: Apple Cider Granita
Next up were the main courses; everyone (except myself) chose the venison. I tried the meat though, it was pretty juicy and flavourful. So not bad?
Green Alder Roasted Venison: Spaghetti Squash, Chestnut Tourtière, & Huckleberries
I don’t know why I chose the fish, to be honest. :/ Fish is something I’m picky about at restaurants because it can be really bland for my taste. I guess I thought, this would be a good place to try it; though considering the way the food was going, I shouldn’t have really had that much hope. But it was okay. More than the fish itself, I loved the accompanying components, which were amazing. I love beets, and these were done quite well.
Purdy's Deep Water Char: Molasses Glazed Salsify, Cookstown Beets, Cranberry Shallot Compote, & Borscht Jus
Dessert was satisfactory. Ice cream was good, but it tasted mostly like french vanilla to me. :/ I couldn’t tell it was supposed to be wildflower. Pears would have been so much better with a bit more salt, and less sugar. I want to poach pears sometime…
Caramel Poached Niagara Pears: Birch Caramel, Almond Cookie Pecans, Wild Flower Ice Cream
Petit fours ended our meal; chocolate (in brownie and bar form) and berries, effectively. Happy camper with this one. X)
Petit Fours
TL;DR: The view was nice, but needed a sweater. Soup was awesome, cocktails not so much. Needs other flavours besides ‘apple’ or ‘sweet’. Perhaps forgo the tasting menu entirely.
whoa, it all looks so rich!